A chicken screamed at dawn.
Not crowed. Screamed.
Jin Nian sat bolt upright in bed, slapping his cheeks awake. "I swear if that feathered demon found another relic, I'm turning it into dinner."
Outside, disciples ran around in a flurry, and spiritual energy buzzed like wild bees. Something had shifted. Something big.
Then—
> System Notification:
Sect Expansion Milestone Reached: Core Ground Level — 20 Disciples Present
First Peak Construction Unlocked: Name Required
Jin Nian's eyes widened.
"Wait… a Peak? Already?!"
He rushed out barefoot. Just past the training grounds, a new mountain was rising from the soil — stone twisting upward like roots chasing the sky, guided by golden light. The ground trembled, but no one was afraid. The air sang.
Disciples gathered in awe, some bowing, others murmuring:
"Is this… divine intervention?"
"Is Master doing this with his Qi?"
"Maybe it's the noodles again."
---
Jin Nian floated up and stood before the mountain as it stopped growing at a sharp, regal height. It was wide and tall, yet elegant, shaped like a spiral horn, with natural stairways curling toward the clouds.
Wu Ling stepped beside him, shielding her eyes from the glare.
"What will you name it?" she asked softly.
He looked up.
His hand trembled a little. Not from fear. But from memory.
In his past life, he'd never gotten this far. He'd never raised a peak of his own. He was only a caretaker of another master's legacy.
This time… it was his legacy.
"Let this be called…"
> System Input:
'Memory-Sealing Peak' — Confirmed
---
As the golden light settled, a small jade tablet appeared before him with a hum.
> First Peak Formed: Memory-Sealing Peak
Function: Houses 1 Ancient Memory Fragment. Grants disciple spiritual amplification and increased comprehension rate.
Capacity: 10 disciples
Bonus: If cultivated on this peak, disciples may inherit dream fragments of the Sect Master's forgotten life.
Jin Nian blinked.
Wait—what?
He looked again. Yup.
"Dream… fragments?!" he muttered. "What if they see something embarrassing—like the time I tried to invent 'Spiritual Bubble Tea' and caused a poisoning outbreak?!"
Wu Ling peered at the glowing peak. "Then they'll love you more for being human."
He looked at her.
"Wu Ling. Are you real?"
"Sometimes."
---
The peak chose its first occupant by spiritual affinity.
> System Ping:
Wu Ling assigned to Memory-Sealing Peak
Dream Link Enabled (Low Sync)
Wu Ling blinked. "Oh. That tickled."
She stepped onto the stairs, and immediately her robes fluttered upward, eyes glowing faintly.
Jin Nian watched nervously. Would she collapse? Float? Explode?
She did none of those things. Instead, she smiled.
"I remember a tree," she whispered. "One with metal roots and red leaves."
Jin Nian felt his stomach twist.
That tree had stood in his old sect's forbidden garden. Its roots were made of silver-fire jade. Only ten existed in the world. And only one had his own blood spilled into its soil.
Wu Ling blinked again. "I also saw a frog wearing a crown."
"Okay, that part might be a dream," Jin Nian said quickly.
---
Meanwhile, disciples scrambled to understand what just happened.
Hong Yan, naturally, had the loudest questions. "Master! Are we forming a mountain army?! Will we get spiritual cannons? Can I lead the Air Chicken Division?"
Mo Jing just stared at the peak, scribbling faster in her black notebook.
Jin Nian raised a hand.
"No cannons. No armies. But starting today, we will have peaks. Each one tied to a fragment of the past… and the future we want to build."
He paused, then looked at his students. Really looked.
Their robes were still mismatched. Half of them couldn't meditate longer than five minutes. One of them might still be possessed by a squirrel demon (the tests weren't conclusive yet).
But they believed in him.
That… was enough.
---
That night, Wu Ling sat cross-legged atop the peak, immersed in meditation. The rest of the sect settled in under the moonlight. Jin Nian wandered alone, checking the formation lines and making sure no one had summoned any more poultry disasters.
He found Mo Jing near the pond, watching the black stone again.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"No," she said simply.
Then: "I saw something in a dream last night. I thought it was fake."
"What did you see?"
She hesitated.
"A man crying in front of a sealed door. He was… laughing while crying. And then he started burning."
Jin Nian's breath caught.
Mo Jing turned to him. "Was that you?"
He couldn't lie.
"Yes."
She nodded. "Okay."
He blinked. "That's it?"
"I just wanted to know if it was real."
Then she wandered off, flipping her notebook.
Jin Nian stared after her.
"This sect is full of strange people," he muttered.
Then smiled. "But they're mine."
---
> System Notification:
Sect Expansion Progress: 20/100 disciples
Next Feature Unlocks at 30 Disciples: Floating Training Pavilion
Memory Fragment Unlock Progress: 3/33
Dream-Link Active: 1 disciple linked
Warning: External observer attempting to trace Memory Signature… Source: Unknown.
The last line made his heart stop.
Unknown? Who?
He turned to the black stone. It pulsed once.
Then whispered.
> "You're not the only one who remembers."
---
Reader Question:
Who do you think is the external observer tracing Jin Nian's memories? An old enemy, a betrayed friend… or someone worse? What are their intentions? Leave your theory!
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